Ufc 104

[Unknown Soldier]

Wow! The Cain Velasquez Vs. Ben Rothwell fight was very good and Velasquez really impressed me. Who ever wins the Lesnar vs Carwin fight had better watch out because Velasquez is a real threat in the 265lb division.

Lyoto Machida Vs. Mauricio Rua was also very good and Rua was doing huge damage with his kicks although Machida absorbed the kicks well. By the 5th round though, Rua seemed to have taken Machida legs away and Machida looked slow. The decision however was a bit shocking imo.

Joe impressed in the Joe Stevenson Vs. Spencer Fisher fight and dominated Spencer. Joe's fitness was very good and I think he's a force in the 155lb and Penn might have some competition now.

Anthony in the Anthony Johnson Vs. Yoshiyuki Yoshida fight really, really impressed me and I think he should be in line for a fight against GSP and this isn't the first fight that he's fought that he's impressed.

Antoni Hardonk Vs. Pat Barry - Pat was good and Hardonk didn't impress me at all(not even in his fight against Kongo at UFC97). Pat had some very nice strikes and really took it to the taller Hardonk.

Stefan Struve Vs. Chase Gormley - Struve fought well but I don't think he'll get far in the heavyweight division. Maybe after he gets many more fights, but now he'll never be able to challenge the top group(Lesnar, Carwin and Velasquez).

 

[slider]

I'm slipping a bit. Never heard of Velasquez before!

Did he appear to be fully rounded? The last guy that really impressed me (that I hadn't heard of much before) was a chap called Bustamante (I think).

Glad to hear Stevenson's got legs these days. He did come through the Ultimate Fighter didn't he? If so I remember thinking wow he's strong, but he keeps gassing...

 

[Mintmaster]

Did he appear to be fully rounded? The last guy that really impressed me (that I hadn't heard of much before) was a chap called Bustamante (I think).

Velasquez has fantastic wrestling and positional control, and his striking seems to be coming along as well. He has one big flaw, though, which is a lack of power in his punches. He dominated Cheick Kongo for a full 15 minutes (aside from the oddly repeating pattern of getting rocked once at the beginning of each round), staying in top control and landing a ton of punches, but he couldn't finish.

Against Rothwell he must have landed 20 power punches, and even when the fight was stopped Rothwell was getting up, making it a bit controversial (no way in hell would Rothwell win anyway). He's too small to outwrestle Lesnar or Carwin, and he's not going to even knock those granite chins down, let alone KO them.

Glad to hear Stevenson's got legs these days. He did come through the Ultimate Fighter didn't he? If so I remember thinking wow he's strong, but he keeps gassing...

Stevenson has looked like a whole new fighter ever since joining Jackson MMA. That camp is amazing.